Illumina soars on deCode sale, revenue jump

Illumina's MiSeq helped revenue grow over the previous year--courtesy of Illumina

Illumina ($ILMN) rode a spike in sales and a lump cashout from its stake in deCode Genetics to a record fourth quarter, bringing in $72 million in net income on $309 million in revenue.

The gene sequencing magnate netted $48.6 million when Amgen ($AMGN) bought deCode for $415 million last month, and while that cash dump inflated Q4 profits, Illumina still has much to celebrate from its operations. Revenue soared 24% over the previous year, thanks in part to an increase in sales of Illumina's MiSeq and TruSeq sequencing platforms.

And, even without the deCode payout, Illumina posted $23.4 million in net income, double what the company made in the fourth quarter of 2011.

"We ended the year with a strong performance and made significant progress on our strategy of growing our clinical business, both organically and through acquisition," CEO Jay Flatley said in a statement.

All this comes as Illumina remains a will-they-won't-they buyout target. Last year's multiple failed bids by Roche ($RHHBY) have only boosted the company's profile in the M&A world. Flatley has maintained that Illumina isn't averse to getting bought, so long as the price is right--which, if rumors that Roche offered $8.1 billion at one point are true, would be quite a sum. Roche Chairman Franz Humer has said the deal "is definitively off the table," but that doesn't prevent another deep-pocketed pharma or private equity group from stepping in.

And Illumina isn't counting on its value to shrink. The company projects 15% revenue growth for 2013 and annual EPS of $1.55 to $1.62.

- read Illumina's full results

Special Report: Illumina - Top M&A targets in devices and diagnostics